A heavy, chalky silence ensued, during which Jaguar's voice vanished entirely, leaving him incapable of uttering a single word. The grandfather studied him with a gaze as rigid as iron blades, and when he received no response or submission from his grandson, he delivered his final, decisive decree to crush what remained of his defenses:
- I mean... divorce her
The word struck Jaguar's ears like a seismic shock that rattled the very foundations of his existence. A boiling fury surged through his veins, and bitter, incredulous questions swirled in his mind: Are my emotions toward her so utterly inconsequential?! Does my desperate desire to keep her in my orbit and my life hold absolutely no weight or status in his eyes?! How can my grandfather command me to sever this sacred bond without even bothering to consider my perspective on this fateful relationship that dictates my destiny with Fati?!
Jaguar clenched his fist with immense force until his knuckles turned stark white, his towering frame trembling from the violent internal conflict. Throughout his entire life, he had never once dared to reject a request or disobey a command issued by this elderly patriarch, whom he viewed as his spiritual father and the architect of his empire. Yet this time, for the sake of Fati, he shattered the code of absolute obedience. He muttered in a resounding, resolute tone brimming with underlying defiance:
- No... I will not do it! And if you do not require my presence for anything else right now, grandfather... I am leaving for work.
Jaguar did not wait for a response, incapable of enduring another second beneath that reproachful gaze. He spun on his heel with a tempestuous energy, exiting the opulent corridor with long, sweeping strides that ate up the floor. Within his mind, billions of complex calculations and bitter comparisons swirled like a raging hurricane; how could his grandfather demand such an impossible sacrifice from him?! Especially since he was the very one who had cultivated the seeds of malice in his past, and the one who had urged him to exact vengeance for the family's dignity all those years! No... I will absolutely never do what he asks of me. The Jaguar will never surrender his prey and his queen, no matter the cost.
The grandfather remained seated at the head of the hall following Jaguar's tempestuous exit, his weathered eyes narrowing into the vacancy of the opulent corridor as he analytically dissected the motives behind this unprecedented defiance. Truth anchored itself before him, presenting two distinct possibilities: either Jaguar had genuinely stumbled into the snare of loving Fati a notion the elder's rigid, corporate mind promptly dismissed, for if he truly loved the girl, he would never have permitted her to vanish for six entire years without tracking her down or turning the earth upside down to find her or there was a darker secret tied to control and dominance. Keeping her bound to him meant, one way or another, ensuring that all the assets and wealth she inherited from her other grandfather remained safely sequestered beneath the umbrella of their empire.
The patriarch finalized his thoughts, realizing he would never abandon the fate of Rosie's daughter to Jaguar's whims or cryptic calculations. Extending his trembling hand, he retrieved the receiver and dialed his private secretary. He commanded in a resounding, authoritative tone that sliced through the silence,
- Inquire immediately into every piece of information concerning my granddaughter, Fati. I require a comprehensive, detailed brief regarding her movements and her life during the years of my prolonged coma. Do not overlook a single detail, no matter how minuscule.
He paused for an interlude as the portrait of his late daughter flashed across his vision, intensifying his conviction to restore stolen rights and offer a tangible, financial fortress that would guarantee Fati her autonomy and strength against Jaguar's overbearing shadow. The grandfather continued his strict mandate,
- Furthermore... immediately draft and compile all legal instruments required to transfer ownership of all corporate shares that belonged to my daughter, Rosie those I froze following her demise. I want their ownership transferred entirely, unconditionally, to the name of my granddaughter, Fati, to be at her absolute disposal.
The secretary's voice filtered through the receiver, brimming with utmost reverence and prompt obedience,
- Very well, sir. I shall compile the official contracts and legal deeds immediately, and I will deliver them to you at the mansion so you may sign and execute them legally.
Jaguar found himself operating on pure, desperate instinct as his strides guided him toward her building. Standing before her apartment door with a heart hammering violently against his ribs, he pressed the buzzer repeatedly, but received no response. Driven by a familiar sense of possessiveness he simply couldn't relinquish, his fingers punched the familiar security code into the electronic lock, and he stepped inside. She hadn't yet returned from her grueling shift. Navigating the quiet space, he noticed she had rearranged some of the furniture, as though methodically erasing any lingering ghost of his presence. He moved toward the sofa and sat in the absolute, swallowing darkness to wait for her, his eyes anchored rigidly to the main entrance while his mind boiled with his grandfather's searing words:
"Divorce her... leave her!"
A desperate thought flashed through his mind: Should he reveal the truth to Fati?! Should he confess that his grandfather was the original mastermind, the one who had weaponized his mind with vengeance all those years when he initially sought no malice?! But his pride instantly revolted against the notion; no, that was not how this game would be played. He would not stand before her as a cowardly subordinate deflecting blame. He would reconstruct the ruins between them on his own terms... he would compel her, somehow, to love him again, no matter how impossible the odds.
After an eternity of waiting, the door clicked open, and Fati stepped inside with exhausted, heavy strides. Without throwing a single glance toward the pitch-black living area, she navigated directly toward her bedroom, carelessly leaving her handbag on the counter of the open kitchen that overlooked the living room.
Jaguar remained motionless in the shadows, listening with bated breath to her soft movements inside the bedroom, followed by the muffled rush of cascading water as she showered to cleanse her battered frame. In those micro-seconds, a wild, consuming fixation gripped him; his mind urged him to rise, to breach her isolation and envelope her in an embrace that would melt away all this freezing estrangement. He envisioned pressing a tender kiss against her crown, inhaling the scent of her damp hair, and losing himself in the absolute purity of her eyes—the very vision that consistently denied him peace.
Minutes later, Fati emerged dressed in comfortable loungewear and walked directly toward the kitchen counter. She unzipped her bag with an eager, protective focus, retrieving the tiny woolen rabbit as if she were rescuing her lone anchor in a hostile universe. Gathering the toy against her chest, she deeply inhaled her mother's latent fragrance, then spun around to return to her bedroom. In that exact fraction of a second, the blood froze in her veins. Her eyes widened in absolute horror and shock as her gaze snagged on the rigid silhouette lurking in the darkness of the sofa... realizing that the Jaguar was sitting right there in the shadows, waiting for her.
She was dressed in a brief summer pajama set shorts and a camisole rendering a raw, homey, and liberated vulnerability that his eyes had never once feasted upon throughout the turbulent span of their marriage. The exact second he tracked the glint of her gaze turning toward him, discovering his silhouette in the gloom, he snapped upright, standing at his full, towering height in the center of the room. He anchored himself tightly beside the sofa, refusing to advance. A sudden, clawing nervousness gripped him in the face of her unexpected allure; raising his hand behind his head, he agitatedly brushed the hairs at the nape of his neck, as if trying to compose himself. He spoke in a husky baritone, attempting to project a calm facade,
- I entered using the security code... because I believe we are in desperate need of...
He intended to finish his sentence with "of a conversation," hoping to initiate a truce and reconstruct the chaos. However, before the words could fully clear his lips, Fati moved with the velocity of lightning. She didn't scream, nor did she command his expulsion; instead, she closed the distance between them, cutting through his fragile silence before he could even process her approach. She uttered in a soft, destabilizing tone that rattled his very core,
- Jaguar... I am truly sorry for not answering your continuous calls today!
In a singular, breathless micro-second that dissolved all boundaries, she threw herself into his personal space, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and pressing her frame flush against his broad chest. Her movement was so incredibly swift, desperate, and unprecedented that it delivered a violent shock to Jaguar's system. He felt as though the floor was liquefying beneath his boots, the sheer gravity of her impact stripping him of his ironclad composure. He stumbled back a step until his frame collided with the back of the sofa, forcing him to brace his shaking weight against it. He froze entirely, his mind screaming in absolute disbelief at this voluntary embrace a surrender he hadn't dared conjure in his wildest, most untamed fantasies.
Yet, that sudden embrace was far from perfect; a strange emptiness and a subtle detachment hung between them, unsettling their frames. Jaguar slowly lowered his head, his gaze tracking downward, only for the bitter reality to strike him with brute force. Fati was not holding him out of affection or remorse as his mind had fondly conjured. Instead, she was clutching his waist in sheer desperation because she had entirely lost her footing, nearly crashing violently against the hard floor! It appeared that, in the paralyzing shock of discovering his silhouette in the gloom, she hadn't focused on her steps, tripping over the edge of the carpet in the darkness—flinging herself forward to save herself from a fall, nothing more.
Jaguar lowered his trembling hands as the wild pulse in his chest settled and his illusions vanished. He questioned in a deep, worried tone,
- Fati... what is wrong? Are you alright?
Her head was buried low against his midsection, her face cast downward, while her hands remained anchored to the sides of his waist. Consequently, he couldn't witness her face, which had flushed crimson with sheer embarrassment and intense fluster from this accidental, intimate proximity. Fati desperately attempted to compose herself and retreat, striving to stand upright as she muttered in a muted, trembling whisper,
- I am... I am fine. Thank you, Jaguar...
But the Jaguar had no intention of letting this rare, fleeting instant slip through his fingers. His massive palm extended, settling over one of her hands, applying a firm yet gentle pressure to arrest her movements as he noted her refusal to lift her head and face him. He didn't grant her a single second to calculate or recoil. Yielding to pure instinct, he reined her in with a decisive, commanding pull, crushing her against his broad chest with all the yearning and possessiveness raw in his soul. Burying her securely between his ribs, he uttered in a ragged voice, choked with a breathless plea against her ear,
- Like this... like this, hold me against your chest, Fati...